Undergraduate Information

Welcome!

This information was written by undergraduates currently in the Woodruff Lab to help incoming undergraduates.

Tips on keeping a good lab notebook:

Carry it with you throughout the lab; you never know when you will need to remember something!
WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!
Rather than putting notes on extra pieces of paper and later putting them in your notebook (you may lose them, or just keep getting behind)…Put the notes directly into your notebook. You can always rewrite a certain protocol on a later page, but this allows you to keep everything intact.
Tape already-written protocols into your notebook and make notes in the margins if anything changes or if you need to remind yourself where reagents are/how to prepare them
Leave it in the lab at night! (so you don’t forget it at home when you really need the protocol for that extremely important experiment the next day…)
Date everything
Keep up-to-date!!

What is a 398/399?

Undergraduates majoring in Biological Sciences can opt to work towards an honors thesis in any biology research lab on campus. Students with a minimum of 3.30 GPA in the Biological Sciences major can obtain Honors in the department. If one’s GPA does not fulfill this requirement they can opt to continue writing their thesis and can submit it for awards and recognition, independent of the Honors title.

In order to complete the Honors requirements, one must do research by registering for a P/N 398 Undergraduate Research Seminar followed by 1 or 2 quarters of 399 Independent Study in the same topic and must obtain satisfactory grades. Students that do not plan on writing an honors thesis can also participate in this research opportunity. The 398/399 sequence counts for credit on the student’s transcript. Dates and times of research work throughout the week will be outlined by the project’s demands. While the 398 and 399 credits do not count towards the 300-level courses required for the major, if one completes three 398/399 courses, the student can choose to opt-out of a 300-level laboratory, but an 8th biology elective (non-lab) will be required. However, if one completes the 398/399 sequence as a precursor to the Honors Thesis, the lab can be entirely replaced and only seven, rather than eight, electives will be expected.

Choosing an advisor is an important part of this process. Students should do research on and initiate contact with a lab that does experiments that personally interest them. It could be a professor whose class who thoroughly enjoyed or who made an impact on you, or just someone whose work you want to learn more about. Advisor and student will then mutually agree upon a topic that can be optimally pursued for the written thesis. A mentor (a graduate student or PhD candidate) is typically assigned to the undergraduate and can act as a knowledgeable teacher to the student throughout the course of the research. This is your go-to person throughout the entire process, and you will work closely with them on a daily basis.

In order to get any info/help on ANY of this information, the best person to go to is Gary Galbreath, a biology professor and the Honors Coordinator for the Program in Biological Sciences at Northwestern. He will not only sit down with you, time after time, if any confusion arises, but he will help you figure out if completing the 398/399 and/or writing an Honors Thesis would be right for you. If it weren’t for Dr. Galbreath I think I would still be a confused pre-med just trying to hopelessly fit everything into my schedule.

For additional information, please go to the Program in Biological Sciences website.

Writing an honors thesis.

Know all the deadlines well in advance. You may find a link to this on the Biology website or ask who ever heads the entire process of writing a thesis. For example some of the deadlines you may need to know about are: when to turn in an abstract, when the literature review should be completed by, and of course when you need to submit your thesis.

You should also try to ask those who have written a thesis before you as a guide. They are the best ones to ask because they’ve been through the process and know what it is like to be on your end of the spectrum.

The summer before your senior year is when you should start to organize papers that pertain to the theme of the lab. This can help you to figure out the purpose of your own project and makes the entire process a lot easier.

The material and methods section is another one that you can get a head start on. By doing this not only will you understand what you are doing a lot better but you will also make May (which is the month when your thesis is due) a little less hectic. You can use any science journal to get help on this section. Also, the format of writing up the thesis is explained on the Biology website.

Most importantly, have people edit and review your thesis!

For additional information, please go to the Program in Biological Sciences website.

Why I decided to do undergraduate research and what it has meant for me.

M. Gomberg (2007 Graduate)
"Being a pre-med at Northwestern has been hard work, as I assume most of the undergrads reading this can attest to. But there are always certain people and certain events that keep you interested in the field and keep you motivated to be a doctor. My favorite part of the Bio-210 sequence at Northwestern was Physiology. Not only did I like the topics and didn’t mind memorizing the various systems and information, but the professor for the course, Dr. Woodruff, always held our interest and continually made time for every student in the class. So when I decided do an honors thesis I knew exactly who I wanted to contact. Lucky for me her research was also something I was highly interested in. It worked out very well, I had enjoyed the project and I was working for someone that I highly looked up to!

So far I have been working on ovarian follicle culture systems and the promotion of antrum formation and growth. This is important because with each of our successes we are one step closer to preserving fertility in chemo-induced patients with ovarian cancer. Throughout my undergrad years I have also founded Camp Kesem, a camp for children whose parents have or had cancer, and been involved in American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Therefore this project has meant a lot to me in terms of applying everything I have been working hard to promote thus far. My research allowed me to feel like I am contributing to the field and has given me countless opportunities I would never obtain from just the textbook. I would highly recommend this to anyone! "

N. Singh (2007 Graduate)
"Before I came to Dr. Woodruff’s lab, the concept of research was a foreign one. One of my primary motivations was to learn more about what research was. Another motivation was to learn to be more independent. Being in Dr. Woodruff’s lab has taught me an immense amount.

On the science side, it’s really difficult to even try to imagine how the techniques you learn in a science course through a textbook can be used. It’s only after those techniques become a regular part of what you do can you truly understand them. On the non-science side, the skills that I have aquired in this lab will assist me in many aspects of my life. Whether I decide to pursue research in the future or go into another profession, the independence attained here and the understanding of the importance of working together with others at the same time will be of great help throughout my life."